Missing
by Californiapoppy5
Summary: When your world is turned upside down, it effects everybody around you. This is a story of a normal girl who trusts her instincts that will ultimately lead her to life or death. This is a story of a boy who doesn't realize what he had until it was gone. What happens when the glue that holds their life together suddenly disappears?
1. Chapter 1

**Missing.**

* * *

_"Before I fall too fast_  
_Kiss me quick but make it last_  
_So I can see how badly this will hurt me_  
_When you say goodbye._

_Keep it sweet, keep it slow,_  
_Let the future pass_  
_And don't let go_  
_But tonight I could fall too soon_  
_Under this beautiful moonlight._

_Cause you're so hypnotizing_  
_You got me laughing while I sing,_  
_you've got me smiling in my sleep._  
_And I can see this unraveling_  
_Your love is where I'm falling_  
_But please don't catch me."_

_"Gabi, you'll be fine. You can stop practicing. I even know all the words to that song." Chad Danforth, one of my best friends said._

_We were in the sixth grade. We just finished our sex education pre course earlier that week. The guys were still laughing at the words 'vagina' and 'penis.' We've been friends for as long as I could remember. It's always been the six of us. There was me, Gabriella Montez, I was the dreamer of the group. I wanted to do anything and everything. My mind was always somewhere else. There was Taylor McKessie, the smartest girl I know, and my best girl friend. There's also Sharpay Evans. She's a little crazy but we tolerated her because she was highly entertaining. She was obsessed with acting, singing, clothes, and girly things. Don't get me started on her love of the color pink._

_There was the boy's too. Chad Danforth, he was the grossest, funniest, silliest boy I've ever met. He was like the brother I sometimes wanted. Ryan Evans, Sharpay's twin brother, he was like the brother I've always wanted. He was super nice, very loyal, and he always complimented me. Then there was Troy Bolton, the only thing he loved more than basketball was his mom. He was a jock. He was always off at some practice or some game or some camp. He liked to tease me but I didn't really mind since everybody in the world knew I've had a crush on him since the third grade._

_The spring talent show was coming up and I was going to audition. Ryan and Sharpay were going to do a number as well. It wasn't really a competition. It was more like a showcase. Only they shared my excitement. Chad, Troy, and Taylor were less than enthused when I asked them to hear me rehearse._

_"But do you think it's good enough?" I asked them biting my lip._

_Taylor gave me an encouraging smile. "Don't tell Sharpay I said this but I'd rather hear you sing than her."_

_"Amen to that. At least you sing cool music not some stupid show tune. If I have to hear that numbers song again, I'm going to rip my ears off." Troy said, mumbling as he laced up his new basketball shoes._

_"Five hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes!" We heard Sharpay faintly coming in to Troy's house._

_"No." Troy groaned, covering his ears._

_"Seasons of Love!" Sharpay sang as she walked into the room, spreading her arms dramatically._

_"Stop! I can't take it anymore!" Chad said, they were both curled up on the couch with their hands over their ears._

_Taylor and I both giggled as Sharpay took off her pink sparkly flat and swatted them both with it. "You. Guys. Are. So. Mean." She said within each smack._

_"Aw Shar, leave them alone, they're boys." Ryan said, taking a seat next to Taylor._

_I took a seat next to Troy at the end of the couch. "Are you guys sleeping over too?" Troy asked, looking at Sharpay and Ryan._

_"Yeah, Mummy just dropped us off for the night." Sharpay explained._

_Troy's hand fell unknowingly close to my leg. I felt my heart beat pick up. It seemed like whenever he was around I was calm cool and collected on the outside but going crazy on the inside. I swallowed thickly, hoping I wasn't too red. I mentally reminded myself not to sit to close to him so he didn't think I was a freak._

_"Gabi."_

_"What?" I asked, whipping my head up._

_"I asked if you could paint my nails." Sharpay said. "Then Tay could do yours while mine dries then I could do Taylor's."_

_"That's fine." I said, pushing my brown curls behind my ear._

_"You're going to make my whole house smell like that stinky stuff." Troy grumbled. My stomach growled, I looked at the time and it was time for lunch. Troy looked over at me concerned. "Are you hungry Brie? I think my mom is making us something."_

_I nodded my head silently, with a apologetic smile. I didn't know my stomach rumbled that loud. He used to call me Brie to get a stir out of me. I had this weird phase where all I'd bring for snacks were crackers and cheese. He thought it would be funny to call me cheese until one day he realized there was a cheese called Brie and it reminded him of my name. I was Brie ever since. It was kind of nice to have a personalized nickname from the boy you've been desperately crushing on through elementary school._

_"Lunch is ready kids! I made everyone's favorite." Aunt Lucy said. Lucy and Jack Bolton were best friends with the Danforth's. My parents were best friends with the McKessie's. When us kids started hanging out, our parents did too. They all seemed like Aunts and Uncles to me and my parents to the rest of them._

_I took my seat and Aunt Lucy smiled at me, stroking my hair gently. She was my favorite. Since I lived across the street from Troy I'd always come over while my parents were at work. Troy was always with Jack being shipped off to one practice or another. We'd find new recipes to bake or try our hands at knitting or crochet or gardening. Everyone loved Aunt Lucy. I adored her the most._

_"Thanks Aunt Lucy." I said, with a smile up at her. I started eating and everybody mumbled a thanks with food in their mouth._

_Aunt Lucy just laughed. "You're welcome. Water for Gabi, Taylor, Sharpay and Ryan. Milk for the basketball boys." She set down the cups of drink next to each of us. "I'll be in my office if you need me. Please don't break anything… Chad."_

_"I am really sorry about you kitty knickknack mama Bolton." Chad said with his nicest smile._

_"I told you ,you shouldn't be playing soccer in the house." Taylor said, smirking at the two boys._

_After lunch, the girls and I did our nails while the boys played baseball out back. Ryan loved baseball. His team went to the Little League world series this last season. I was so proud of him. He wasn't into basketball or any other ones, but he played to keep up with the boys. We all knew he didn't have to, but he did anyway. I'd always be on his team since three was such an awkward number and Taylor nor Sharpay wouldn't dare touch any kind of ball._

_As we got ready for bed someone thought it would be a bright idea for us to play spin the bottle. I knew something was up when I came out of the bathroom and they were sitting in a circle with an unopened ketchup bottle in the middle of them. I had a bad feeling about this and my instincts were never wrong._

_"Come on Gabi. Sit next to me!" Sharpay said, scooting closer to Ryan._

_"Okay." I said hesitantly. We were all in Troy's room, on the floor the door closed behind me. I took a seat in between Sharpay and Taylor. Troy was across from me. I tried not to blush as he made eye contact with me._

_"We have to have some kind of rules." Taylor said._

_"I'm not kissing dudes." Chad said, looking over at Ryan and Troy. "Sorry dudes."_

_"Fine, then we can't kiss girls." Sharpay said._

_The guys looked at each other. "We have no problem with that." Troy said._

_Taylor frowned. "No double standards Bolton. All or nothing."_

_"Fine. All." Chad agreed. We all glared at him. "What?" He shrugged. "Oldest goes first."_

_"Crap." Taylor said, frowning. She sighed and reached out, spinning the bottle. She closed her eyes as we watched it slow to a stop at Ryan. She opened her eyes. Ryan looked like a deer in the headlights. "Are you ready for this?"_

_"I-I guess. It's just a kiss." He said with a simple shrug. He leaned over and they kissed before pulling away and sitting down._

_Chad took a hold of the bottle, spinning it around. It stopped on Troy. Us girls burst out into giggles. "Shit." Chad cursed silently._

_"Hey, you're the one that picked all." Taylor reminded him._

_"Come on Danforth. It's just a kiss." Sharpay said with a smirk._

_Troy looked over at me quickly before he looked at Chad. They kissed before wiping their mouths off dramatically. "Please be a girl." Troy said as he spun the bottle. It landed on himself. He kissed the back of his hand with a smirk. "Go on Ry."_

_Ryan spun the bottle and it stopped on his sister. "Whoa! Nuh-uh! I am not kissing Ryan!" Sharpay said._

_"Hey! I kissed Hoops! It's like the same thing!"_

_"No it's not! Me and Ryan shared a womb!"_

_Taylor and I watched in amusement. "You shared a placenta! A kiss isn't going to kill you." Troy argued._

_Shar glared at all of us. "I hate you… all of you." She leaned over to give Ryan a peck. They both made the same face as they pulled away. Sharpay spun the bottle and it landed on Chad. "Ugh, gross." She said as she leaned over the circle, giving Chad a kiss._

_I stared at the bottle. I felt really nervous. I didn't want to do this because I knew how it was going to turn out. I knew it was going to land on Troy and I knew he wasn't going to want to kiss me. I twirled my finger around my curl, lost in thought._

_"Brie, it's your turn." Troy said. I took a deep breath and spun the bottle. I closed my eyes until I heard somebody gasp. I opened my eyes and I was right. It was on Troy. "Oh, I can't kiss Brie…" He said, laughing nervously. My heart sank._

_"Shut up Bolton and kiss the girl before I smack you." Sharpay said._

_I sat up and leaned over. He looked as nervous as I felt. He placed his hands on the ground and leaned in to kiss me. His hand slipped and his forehead came in contact with my nose. I tasted blood in my mouth just before I saw a drip on my hand._

_"Oh my god! Gabs, you're nose." Taylor said._

_"Oh I don't like blood." Ryan said, his face turning pale before he fell back. Sharpay caught him._

_Troy was rubbing his forehead and I got up quickly, running to the bathroom. I locked the door with my clean hand and turned on the water. I washed off my hands, letting the blood drip into the sink. I was so embarrassed. I knew something bad was going to happen. I wiped my nose, stuffing toilet paper in both nostrils. I took a seat on the closed toilet lid before I heard a soft knock._

_"Gabriella, are you alright sweet heart?"_

_"I'm fine Aunt Lucy. It's almost stopped bleeding." I said. "I'll clean up the sink too."_

_"Don't worry about that honey. Do you mind if I come in?" She asked quietly._

_I frowned to myself. I didn't want to seem rude. "I'm fine Aunt Lucy, really. Give me a couple more minutes and I'll be right back out."_

_"Take as much time as you need." She told me._

_I sighed, sitting there for a couple of minutes before taking the tissue out of my nose. I sniffed and spit a couple of times to get the metallic blood taste out of my mouth. I brushed my teeth again before looking at myself in the mirror. I wanted to cry. I wanted that kiss so bad, whether I admitted it to myself or not. Now I just looked like a bleeding looser._

_I cleaned up the sink and put all the bloody tissue in the garbage. I took a deep breath, making sure I didn't have blood anywhere else on me. I walked out of the bathroom to Troy's room. It smelled like disinfectant. They must have migrated down stairs. I walked down stairs and everybody looked at me._

_"Are you alright?" Taylor asked._

_I nodded. "I'm fine, it was just a little nose bleed. Troy, is your head okay?"_

_He gave me a small smile. "Yeah, it's fine." He said rubbing his forehead. "I have a hard head."_

_I laughed quietly. "Yeah, I know." I joked._

_"You guys, get to bed at a decent hour." Aunt Lucy said coming into the room from the kitchen. She walked straight over to me. "You feeling okay? I can get you some Tylenol if you need."_

_I hugged her. "I'm okay, thanks anyway Aunt Lucy."_

_"If it's bothering you I left some on the counter." She said. "Goodnight kids."_

_"Night." We called back to her._

_"Hey, where's your dad?" Chad asked Troy._

_Troy shrugged. "He's in Oregon for a business trip. He's coming back tomorrow."_

_"I'm going to bed." Taylor announced crawling into her sleeping bag. Ryan was on one couch and Chad was on the other. Taylor was in the middle of me and Sharpay and I was in the middle of Taylor an Troy._

_We all decided to get into our sleeping bags as well. There was a Family Guy episode on TV with the volume down low. Normally I'd fall asleep pretty quickly but my nose was a little sore still. I put my hair up into a bun so it wouldn't get too tangled._

_I watched a little TV before I took a quick look at everybody. It looked like everybody was sleeping except me. I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. I laid back down, facing Troy. His eyes opened, startling me. "I didn't know you were awake." I said quietly._

_He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He said._

_I pulled my blanket up to my neck as I saw him scoot closer to me. "Why aren't you sleeping?"_

_"Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked._

_"Well some dork decided it would be fun to smash their forehead into my nose." I said. I touched my tender nose gently. "It's still a little sore."_

_"I'm so sorry Brie." He said frowning. "It was an accident, really."_

_I giggled at him. "I know, Troy. I forgive you."_

_"The bruise is a perfect oval." He said, looking at it closer. "At least it's pretty colors."_

_I rolled my eyes at him. "Whatever." I said with a smile._

_"I guess I still owe you that kiss."_

_I froze. "You don't have to… if you don't want to… I guess." I said, swallowing thickly. The butterflies were bubbling. No bad feelings this time. He placed his hand on my cheek and pressed his lips against mine slowly. My eyes closed. His lips were light against mine, when I thought he was going to pull back he just pressed against me a little harder. This was definitely not a spin the bottle kiss._

_He pulled away from me. He pressed a light kiss to the tip of my nose. "Goodnight Brie." He said softly._

_"Goodnight." I said breathlessly. I rolled over, turning my back to him. Dear god, if I wasn't already in love with him, I sure was now._

* * *

That kiss was just a kiss and we didn't really act upon it. We went off to middle school where we both got our first boyfriends/girlfriends and heart breaks. The six of us remained close. We added Zeke Baylor and Kelsi Neilson. We had homeroom with them and we all just clicked instantly.

We didn't really start drifting apart until we started our freshman year. Troy, Chad, and Zeke made the basketball team. Ryan, Sharpay and Kelsi were in the theatre most of the time. Taylor and I stuck by each other and we ran for student government and joined all the clubs that we could.

We didn't hate each other. We were all civil. We were still friends, we just weren't that close. As spring of freshman year rolled around, I was set into a routine. Mondays; I had debate and student government after school. Tuesdays; I had Chemistry club and yearbook after school. On Wednesdays, I didn't have anything so I'd go over to Troy's house and hang out with Aunt Lucy. When Troy got home I'd tutor him if he needed help. Thursdays I had leadership activities and key club and on Fridays I had gardening/ environmental science club and a physics club meeting once a month. I had a busy schedule but I wanted a lot of extracurriculars to get me into a good college. I wanted to get into an Ivy league or Stanford. I was so excited to almost be done with my freshman year of high school.

Today was Wednesday, April 16, 2008.I woke up with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I could not shake it as I was getting ready. I had my backpack and a bag of clean gym clothes ready to go by the door. Mom was making me breakfast and my dad had already left for work.

I grabbed the juice from the fridge and poured it in a cup. I took a drink as I put the juice away. "You're awfully quiet this morning babe." Mom said, handing me a plate of food.

"My stomach hurts… I think that time of the month is coming soon." I said with a sigh. I started eating.

"Maybe the food will make it feel better." She said. "You can stay home if you need to."

I shook my head. "I should be fine once I get moving." I said, taking a drink. "I'm probably going to be at the Bolton's after school."

Mom took a drink of her coffee. "Have Lucy call me when you get there like usual." Mom said. "You better get going, you're going to miss the bus." She said, looking at her watch.

I popped up, finishing off my food. "You're right." I said, shoving my cell phone in my pocket. "I love you mom, I'll see you tonight." I took one last drink of my juice and my mom kissed my forehead.

"I love you too babe, have a great day."

I smiled at her. "You too." I picked up my things and headed out the door. I walked down my street then turned on to another street. I had to walk down another quiet street to get to the bus stop. I felt my phone vibrate and pulled it out.

_'I need a man.'_ This was a message from Taylor.

I laughed to myself. _'Me too girl. But the one I want will never like me back.'_

_'I think he already does. He's just scared… like you.'_ Taylor replied and I rolled my eyes.

I stopped at the bus stop. I was always the first one here. Always early. _'Yeah right'_ I sent it and something went over my head. Suddenly my phone, my gym bag, and my backpack were ripped away from me. I got picked up and put into somewhere tight spaced.

I was frozen, I was terrified. I couldn't scream, move or even talk. I didn't even have time to process what was going on. I felt myself crying and I felt it start to get hard to breathe. I noticed my hands were tied around my back. I tried to wiggle them free but it felt like they were duct taped. It hit me.

I just got kidnapped, taken. My heart rate quickened. I'd never get to see my mom or dad or friends again. I'd never get to tell Troy how I felt. I'd never get to graduate or go off to college. I'd never get to get married. What if I died? Nobody would ever know that I died unless they found my body. What if they never found my body? I was sobbing now, shaking. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to go home.

* * *

**I had some inspiration in light of recent events. I've been reading up on those three girls that were taken in Ohio. I hate when kids go missing, kidnappings or other wise. I live in California. We've unfortunately had many pretty famous news stories of girls going missing. Jaycee Dugard- from Lake Tahoe. She is thankfully safe and at home with her family again. There are also some tragic stories about girls that don't get out. One recent one is from a couple years ago. Sierra Lamar was taken from Morgan Hill, CA. I actually know people who knew her and we're still praying everyday that we find her and she's alive. So this story is loosely based on these events but most of it is my imagination. I'm not that fantastic at writing 'bad' things. I hope you like it though. I love you guys. Don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Troy's POV**

"Thanks Uncle Kent." I said. "Bye Ryan." They had dropped me off at home from baseball practice. I waved as I walked in my door.

"Troy!" My mom yelled. "Why the hell haven't you answered your phone?"

I looked at her surprised. "My phone died in sixth period.. I already told you it had a bum battery."

"Was Gabriella at school today?" She asked me nervously, biting her lip.

I thought back to my day at school. "I don't know mom, I don't remember seeing her there. Why?"

"It's Wednesday, Gabriella always comes over on Wednesday. I called her mom when she didn't show up and she said she hasn't heard from her." My mom said.

I frowned a little bit. "Did you go across the street?"

"No, but the Gilbert's dog would have barked when Gabriella walked by. Coco didn't bark at all today. It looks like the lights are all off too." She said moving to the window. "Can you go across the street and check?" She pulled out her key's and handed me the ringlet that said Montez.

"Yeah, I'll go look but she's probably sleeping or something." I said shrugging.

I grabbed my house phone and walked across the street. Coco started barking. That damn dog was annoying. I looked back to see my mom watching in the window. I unlocked the Montez's door and went inside. "Brie!" I called out. "Brie!" I said a little louder. I closed the door behind me and walked up the stairs. "Brie Come on." I said to myself.

I opened her room and it was empty. I checked all the doors in the house and she definitely wasn't home. Maybe she was with Taylor. I called up Taylor as I started walked back down the stairs. "Bolton? Why are you calling me?" Taylor asked.

"Hey, was Brie at school today?" I asked her.

"No… I was texting her early this morning but she just stopped suddenly. I didn't see her at school. I figured she might have fell asleep or something." Taylor said. "Why?"

"She always comes to my house on Wednesdays. It's Wednesday and she didn't come over and she's not at home." I said, closing up the Montez house.

"Oh my god. I'm going to call her." She said before hanging up.

I walked back across the street. "She wasn't at home, ma." I said. My stomach was tight. What would happen if something bad happened to her?

"I'm going to call Maria again, see if she's heard anything. Go take a shower and call your friends. See if they heard anything." Mom instructed me.

"Okay." I plugged my cell in and I hopped in the shower. Where the hell could she be? She wouldn't run away… would she? I didn't even know what was even going on right now, but I hoped she was okay.

I called all of our friends and none of them have seen her. Brie's parent's just got here. We were going to go look for her. Dad came home from work early to help look too. I convinced Chad to have his parents help out and look for her. Taylor's were searching too.

I was so scared when we couldn't find her. When we got back to my house Aunt Maria and Uncle Cory had called the police. They couldn't file a report but they did set out an Amber Alert for her. We had to wait. They sent me to bed but I couldn't sleep. I needed to know if Brie was okay. I prayed to god that we would find her tomorrow.

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

I felt the car stop. It felt like I've been wherever I was for hours. My arms were sore from trying to wiggle myself free, I could barely breathe in this bag over my head. I had to stop crying. Crying seemed to make it worse and if I wanted to live I needed to breathe. I silently asked god what I did to deserve this.

I froze when the trunk opened. I felt two strong hands lift me out. All I knew was that it was hot and the sun was still burning bright. Whoever had me still didn't say a word. The bag came off my head and I immediately shut my eyes because it was so bright outside.

"Well hello beautiful. Welcome home." The man said. My stomach twisted and I felt like I was going to vomit.

I opened my eyes to get a good look at the man. He was ugly and dirty. He had a missing canine tooth. He was balding at the top of his head, his hair a sandy brown. His eyes an ugly swamp green. I've never wanted to hurt somebody in my life until this moment. I despised this man and I didn't even know him.

"This is not my home." I said, my teeth gritting.

"Let's go." He said, ignoring my comment. I got a good look at his license plate 3CBA699. I took a mental image before he dragged me along.

I took notice of my surroundings. We were in the mountains somewhere. There was a gravel road and I couldn't see any main streets from here. If I ran it would take a while to get into civilization. I needed to make a plan. I needed a checklist. Unfortunately I needed his routine. Hopefully he wouldn't kill me first.

I took a shaky breath and we walked into a small house. We went through the kitchen. He had a big island in the middle of the small kitchen. "You better not run or I wont hesitate to blow your brains out with my hunting rifle." He said, letting go of me. I looked around frantically but before I could even move, he opened a cabinet door that lead down to a staircase.

He pulled me down and we headed down the stairs into the darkness. When we could finally stand up straight he snapped the light on. There was a bed and a toilet and shower with no doors. There was a door but it looked like it was locked. "Why are you doing this?" I finally asked him.

"Why because you're beautiful and I want to keep you to myself." He said, causing goosebumps to rush across my skin. "Now lets take a little tour. This room is for when you're a good girl. You have a toilet a shower with shampoo. I might even bring you some nice clothes… if you're good. If you're a bad girl, you're going to go in that room… and you don't want to go in that room." He pointed to the closed door.

"Why can't you just let me go?" I said quietly.

"Because I've shown you where I live and you're never getting away from me baby girl. Like I said before.. If you run, I'll kill ya." He pulled out his knife and pressed it against my cheek. He ran his nose along my other cheek. "You smell so good baby."

I tried to hide my disgust. I shut my eyes tight. I felt the knife run down my back slowly. I felt my hands become loose. I ripped the tape off my hands, balling it up as tight as I could. I didn't make any sudden moves because he still had a knife in his hands. He kissed my lips before he pulled away. "Dinner will be ready in an hour baby girl." He called out, walking up the stairs.

I stood there for a minute catching my breath. I rushed over to the toilet, vomiting whatever was in my stomach. I tried to stay as quiet as possible so he didn't come back down here. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible. I flushed the toilet and walked over to the bed. I stripped all the covers off making sure it was clean. I put them back together before looking around the small room.

The only natural light was from the bathroom window. It wasn't that big at all. I definitely would not be able to crawl out of it. I went over to the door and touched the door knob. I turned it slowly and the door opened. I peaked inside and saw a table with ropes and a bigger window. I walked over to it and played with it a little bit. It was rusted over and stuck. I looked around for anything that would be able to crack it open.

I heard something jingling from upstairs and rushed back into the first room, closing the door quietly. I took a seat on the bed, curling myself up into a ball. I needed to be good for a little while. I needed somebody to find me. I needed to have faith in myself and anybody who saw me get taken.

The buzz of the TV was playing upstairs. I couldn't quite make out what it was saying but it was news. Daddy loved to watch news around this time. By the setting of the sun it was around seven or eight o'clock. My heart hurt thinking about my family. I didn't have any siblings. I only had my parents. They were both workaholics but I loved them more than anything. I never got to tell my dad I loved him one last time.

I burst out in tears, letting them stream down my hot face. I sobbed into my jean covered legs. I never got to tell Chad about how I missed his stupid jokes or Ryan's compliments, Sharpay's show tunes. I'll never get to Try Zeke's Banana blueberry cookie-cake-biscuit thing he was working on. I'd never get to be Taylor's sophomore class vice president. I'd never hear the new songs that Kelsi was always working on. I'd miss Troy and his family. The way he called me Brie, the way he always played basketball with his shirt off.

These were all of the things I took for granted and I'd probably never have the chance to see my friends or family again. I had to be brave. I can't give up hope now. I shut my eyes tightly, rocking myself back and forth. The only song I could think of right now started coming out of my mouth.

_"See this heart won't settle down_  
_Like a child running scared from a clown_  
_I'm terrified of what you do_  
_My stomach screams just when I look at you._  
_Run far away so I can breathe_  
_Even though you're far from suffocating me._  
_I can't set my hopes too high_  
_Cause every hello ends with a goodbye_

_But you're so hypnotizing_  
_You got me laughing while I sing_  
_You've got me smiling in my sleep_  
_And I can see this unraveling_  
_Your love is where I'm falling_  
_But please don't catch me."_

* * *

**Troy's POV**

"No new updates on the missing girl from northeast Albuquerque. Fifteen year old Gabriella Montez is five foot tall, petite build, Brown hair and Brown eyes. She had a green Jan Sport backpack and a bag of gym clothes with her. She was possibly taken on her way to school Wednesday April 16th. She is said to walk to the bus stop on the corner of Canyon and Glenmoore. The suspected time was around 6:30 to 7:20 A.M. If you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of this child, please contact Albuquerque police department."

"Troy, turn that off." Dad said, sitting on the couch.

"Why? It's not like we're doing anything to find her." I said, bitterly. "If I had a car I would search all over fucking Albuquerque for her."

"Troy Samuel Bolton, watch your language. I know you're upset but that doesn't mean the household rules don't apply. The police are doing everything they can. There are talks of a search party meeting up at East Elementary all week to look for any clues. Let the adults handle this." Dad said, glaring over at me.

I growled, turning off the TV before throwing the remote at the wall. I headed up stairs to my room and laid on the bed. It's been three whole days with Gabriella missing. I feel like nobody is doing anything to find her. They haven't found any clues yet? How could she just vanish into thin air? I never realized how much I missed having her around.

My phone rang from next to me. "Mckessie?" I answered.

"Are you watching the news? Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" I asked, sitting up.

"Turn on the news. NOW." She instructed. I grabbed my remote and turned on the TV.

"Breaking news in the case of the missing girl, Gabriella Montez. Police say they found a backpack a bag of clothes and a cell phone that were all described as Gabriella's." I unknowingly hung up on Taylor and leaned in to the TV. "The police are going to further investigate the cell phone and the bag for anything that could link us to a kidnapper."

"Oh my god." I said quietly.

"These items were found on the side of the road six miles south from the supposed bus stop where she was taken. We are asking locals if they have seen Gabriella or any suspicious activity." I turned the TV off. I ran my fingers through my hair. This was serious.

I got up and started pacing my room. I walked into my closet and pulled out a box of stuff I had collected from the last couple of years. I took a seat and pulled out the book on top. It had 'Congratulations, you are now a Wildcat.' across the cover of it. Brie had made this for me a couple of months ago for my birthday, a couple weeks after I made the JV basketball team. It was filled with pictures of me playing basketball. She was always cool and creative like that.

There were many more things like that in the box. Brie loved pictures, being in them and taking them. I only seemed to keep her gifts because they were always home made and heartfelt. I just couldn't throw them away. Brie and I always had this special connection. Whether it was me making fun of her love of cheese or her being a great friend even if I wasn't really there for her like she was for me. She always cared and that's what I love about her.

I closed the box pushing it back in. I grabbed the photo book on top of my dresser. It had the ugliest pictures of us six since we were in kindergarten. It was Chad's idea to keep all the ugly pictures and we spent most of our time at my house or the Evan's house, I had the photo album. I flipped through a couple of pages, laughing at the weirdness within.

I stopped at a picture of me and Brie. We had just waken up and her hair was wild and she had the meanest look on her face. She was not a morning person. She had an oval sized bruise on her nose where I accidentally bumped heads with her playing spin the bottle. I made her nose bleed but I made it up. I gave her my first kiss that night… my first kiss with a girl at least. I mentally blocked out kissing Chad.

I got up, leaving the photo book on my bed and pulled on my shoes. I walked down stairs. "I'm going across the street ma." I said out loud.

"I don't think that's a good idea Troy." Mom said, frowning.

"I'll be back in five minutes. I just need to tell Aunt Maria something." I said, looking at her, hopeful. "You can watch me all the way there."

She sighed, nodding. "I'll let you go but if you interrupt something you come straight back across the street. Do you hear me?"

"Yes mom." I said, walking out the door. I jogged across the street, looking both ways for cars. I pressed the doorbell and waited for somebody to answer.

"Troy? Honey, what are you doing here?" Aunt Maria asked as she opened the door.

"I just wanted to see if you needed anything." I said, rubbing my arm.

She gave me a sad smile. "Thanks honey but I think we're good."

"Oh, okay." I said, scratching the back of my neck. "Aunt Maria?"

"Yeah, Troy?"

"I'm sorry." I said, letting out a breath.

"For what honey?" She asked me, frowning.

"About Brie. I didn't think I could miss somebody this much…" I looked down at my shoes. "I want to help you find her, I'll help you any way that I can." I told her.

She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her tightly. "Oh Troy. I know you miss her, we all do. I'd love for you to help out. We're going to go search for her this weekend. You and your parents can come by and help out." She suggested.

"That's what my dad was telling me." I cleared my throat, giving her one last squeeze before I pulled away. "I'll be there." I promised. "Call us if you need anything."

"We will Troy. Thank you."

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

It's been three whole days since I've been stuck in this monster's house. He never seems to leave the damn house. He always sends me down food but I haven't eaten anything in three days. I don't know what he's putting in there. The only thing I put in my mouth is sealed water bottles, it seems like that's not enough anymore. I work for a little bit on trying to get the window open in the 'bad' room.

I need something to open it. Some kind of tool or weapon. I've looked around the 'bad' room. Seems like he keeps all his torture devices upstairs. I flush the food he makes me down the toilet and hide the fork in between the bars under the bed. I had to wait until he was asleep or something to start on the window again.

He threw down a magazine once. It was a stupid trash magazine. I was really confused on why he even took me. He just kissed me that one time. He feeds me, he gives me a bathroom and a bed. I just don't get it. He hasn't tried to make a pass at me. I didn't really want to find out what he wanted to do to me.

I heard quiet in the house. I looked out the small window. It was probably around seven. Breakfast came at six, lunch at twelve and dinner at six. I walked out of my bathroom and to my bed. I pulled the fork out from under the bed, heading towards the bad room. I opened the door silently, rushing over to the window. The flat end of my fork dug in between the rusted hinge trying to pry it loose.

"Now baby, what did I say about running?" My body tensed up and I dropped the fork, stepping on it instantly. I covered it with the dirt hoping he wouldn't see it. He wrapped his hand around my neck. "Why are you trying to run? I've done nothing but be nice to you."

I gasped for air as his hand clenched around my throat tighter. He threw me down on the medal table, my head bouncing of it. I squeezed my eyes shut in pain. He forced my hands down tying them tight to the table. I felt the sting of his palm as it moved across my face. I tried not to make any noise. He strapped my ankles down before he moved away.

I leaned my head up to see what he was doing. There was a secret compartment behind the door. He pulled it open and came back with scissors. I felt the cold blade of the scissors against my stomach, cutting slowly. I let out a harsh sob as I realized what he was doing. He pulled off my shirt, cutting off my bra, leaving me half naked against the cold table.

"No, no, no, no." I begged trying to move out of the grips of the malicious table. "I'll be good, I'll be good." I said sobbing.

"You had the chance to be good baby girl. I trusted you." He said, pulling off my shoes. He started cutting off my pants. "The only way to get that back is to show me, just how good you can be." The tone of his voice made my insides quiver.

"Please, please don't do this." I begged as my tears flooded my ears.

He left a kiss on my lips, "Don't worry baby… you'll like it." He hopped up on table over me.

"Please… please." I begged softly as his hands roamed my body. I shut my eyes tight, mentally trying to find a better place. "Stop, please." I whimpered out, before fading out of my surroundings quickly.

* * *

**Don't forget to review! See y'all next weekend**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gabriella's POV**

I lost all track of time after the third night. After the night I spent in the 'bad' room. I knew things changed when I got taken but now nothing will ever be the same. After that night he left me tied up until late the next evening. He thought I had 'learned my lesson.' I went straight into the shower, scratching and scrubbing my body almost to the point where it was raw. He left me a towel and some clothes since he destroyed mine. He destroyed my last possessions of my old life.

I started eating again and he started drinking. Whenever he came down he always smelled like some kind of alcohol. His hygiene habits bettered thankfully. He didn't look so dirty so often. He started to grow a beard and started to go out more.

I would have tried to get out again but I didn't have the courage or dignity to try. I didn't want to get caught again. I didn't want to go through what I went through again. It seemed like most of the time all I wanted to do was die. I wish he would have just killed me and dumped my body somewhere. I'd rather be dead than this man's play thing. I don't know if I had the will to go on.

"What did you want to show me Uncle Richard?" I heard a voice come from the shower window. I got up from the bed, walking over to the window. I peaked through the opening and saw feet in the distance.

"I wanted to show you the deer I killed yesterday. I thought you might want to add the head to your collection." The man said. I guess his name was Richard… I didn't even ask. "Bradley, where'd your sister go?"

"I'm right here, uncle Richard!" A girl said, running over to the other pairs of feet. She sounded about ten or so. An age blissfully ignorant of all the bad in the world. I was jealous. I wish I was ten years old again.

"Richard, what the hell have you done to the cabin? Why don't you go back home?" A woman said.

"Well sister, I've just needed a little vacation. I told you where I was going." Richard, the man, said. "Jane, you, Brad, and Chelsea are more than welcome to stay."

"Oh I don't know. Summers are different than winters in the cabin." Jane, the woman I guess, said. "Hey did you hear about that missing girl from your area in Albuquerque? She's been good for a month now."

"Yeah, I've been following it on the news. Gabriella's her name right?"

"Yeah, it's such a shame. That beautiful little girl was only fifteen. How could somebody just take her off the streets like that? I don't know what would happen if somebody took Chels. I'd be lost without her." Jane said, I could hear the frown.

I don't know what willed me not to scream out the window… maybe the fact that his boot was getting closer and closer to the window. Like it was a warning that if I said something he would probably kill me. "Nobody is ever going to take Chelsea away from you Janey. Promise." Richard said, his boot tapping gently to hit the window.

I jumped running back towards my bed silently. I curled up against the headboard of my bed. I wished the police or whoever was looking had a lead that pointed towards this disgusting compulsive liar. I wish I had some hope left into breaking out of this room. I felt my self starting to breathe heavier, like the oxygen in the room wasn't enough. My mind was racing. I slid down to the floor and put my head between my legs, breathing deeply, wheezing air out.

Soon the voices faded, just like my anxiety. A half hour later I heard the door open, the sound of a plate sliding against the top stair and the sound of the door closing. I hesitantly walked over to the stairs. I grabbed the plate before walking over to the bed.

I looked at the plate full of food. It looked different than normal cooking. The woman must have cooked this. I picked up the fork and put a scoop of macaroni and cheese in my mouth. It reminded me of Aunt Lucy. She'd always make the best macaroni and cheese.

My eyes welled up with tears as I ate my food in silence other than my soft sobs. I tried not to get my tears in the macaroni. When it became too much I set the plate off to the side and curled up on the ground. I took big deep breaths to try to calm myself down. "I just want to go home." I sobbed quietly to myself, rocking back and forth.

* * *

**Troy's POV**

I felt like I was an empty shell of a person as I walked through the halls of East High on the last day of Freshman year. Everyone around me seemed to be having a grand old time. After it was announced nationally that Gabriella had gone missing. It seemed like everybody at school felt sad and mad and scared. After a couple of weeks nobody seemed to care anymore. Everybody seemed to go on with their life.

They didn't understand what it was like to have one of your best friends taken from you. Most people, well more of my newer 'friends' , didn't understand that we were friends before high school. They wanted to know why I cared so much about somebody I didn't even hang out with. They obviously didn't know anything about me.

I went to my empty locker and sighed to myself. I walked around the corner and saw people in front of Gabriella's locker. "Hey! Hey! What the hell are you doing?" They looked at me scared and confused. "What are you doing to her locker?"

"Everybody has to clean their locker out for the end of the school year." A boy said, looking at me.

"I understand that but what the fuck are you going to do with all her stuff?" I asked them.

"Um, give it to her family?" The other one answered.

"Let me do it." I said.

"But-"

"But I don't care. Let me do it. I've known her since kindergarten. Let me do it." I said, harshly.

"Um, okay." They handed me the stuff in the box that they carelessly threw from her locker.

I took off my backpack and sat down. I took everything out of the box and put all the books in neatly. I sighed to myself as I pulled out the sweater she left in there. It smelled just like her. I closed my eyes as I folded it up. I couldn't break down, especially not here.

"What are you doing?" I heard a voice standing next to me. I looked up at Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi.

"They were cleaning out her locker and I wanted to do this for her." I said, looking back into the locker. "She wouldn't just want any old people to go through her stuff."

"When's the last time you even talked to Gabi?" Sharpay asked, the three of them slid down next to me.

I bit my lip trying to keep the tears from forming in my eyes but they did. I looked over at them. "I don't remember… and that's the problem." I said, staring at them for a second before turning back.

"I miss her…" Ryan said, watching me reach for the rest of the books.

"Everybody just acts like nothing ever happened to her." Kelsi said quietly.

"Everybody didn't know her like we did." We heard Taylor said from the other side of me. She took a seat next to me.

"Look at her, she was always so happy." Zeke said, standing next to Chad who was hugging his basketball.

"Everything feels so incomplete without Gabi." Chad said sighing, sitting with us. I pushed the books behind me and pulled her pictures off the locker door before I slid down, resting against her open locker.

I held out the pictures of all of us. One from elementary school and the other from my last birthday. Brie was always in the middle, between me and Sharpay or me and Taylor. I smiled to myself thinking back to the days those pictures were taken.

"Wasn't that the day we played spin the bottle and Troy almost broke Gabi's nose with his forehead?" Sharpay asked.

We all started laughing. "I think it was a couple days after…" I pointed to her nose. "She had a bruise here for the longest time."

"I was so happy when you were about to kiss her. I couldn't imagine what Gabs was feeling." Ryan said.

We all turned to look at him. "Ryan." They all scolded him.

I looked at them confused. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing." He said, looking over at Kelsi.

I looked back at the picture. "Too bad she never got the kiss, she got a bloody nose instead." Taylor said, changing the subject.

"But she did." I said quietly. "I kissed her that night."

"No shit! Why didn't she tell me?" Taylor asked.

"More importantly… why didn't you tell ME?" Chad asked, kicking my shoe.

I shrugged. "Not everybody needed to know."

"That means that you were each other's first kiss!" Kelsi said excitedly.

"Actually Troy kissed Chad first…" Sharpay said.

Chad and I glared at her. "You're the one that kissed your brother." Chad shot back.

"I remember kissing your nasty ass too." Sharpay said, glaring at him.

"Okay, okay! We get it okay. We're getting away from the point that you actually kissed her! Way to go Troy!" Taylor said grinning at me.

Zeke looked at all of us. "It obviously wasn't that big of a deal."

Everybody turned to stare at Zeke. "What are you talking about? Of course it's a big deal!" Ryan said.

I raised my eyebrows, looking between all of them. The bell rang and they started getting up. Taylor leaned back down again. "Don't worry Troy, you'll figure it out one day." She said, patting my shoulder.

Figure what out? I was so confused. I just watched my friends as they went there separate ways. I sat there with a box of things in between my legs. I stood up and looked at the empty locker in front of me. I wish I would have talked to Brie more. I wish I would have spend more time with her. I wish I could thank her for everything she did for me. I closed the locker and carried the box of books into my class.

The summer wasn't the same without Brie. The gang was getting closer though. We spend endless hours setting up fundraisers for the Montez family. We tried to get as much of the community involved in these as possible. We asked pretty much all of New Mexico to help out at least once a week to come down and search for her.

The police never found anything incriminating on her phone or DNA on her things. Every body was starting to loose hope in finding Gabi. I knew she was out there and I knew she was okay wherever she was. We started our sophomore year and I lost interest in everything. I didn't want to play basketball, I didn't want to play baseball, I didn't want to go to school. I didn't want to do anything until we found her.

My parents were worried most about me. They didn't understand my obsession with finding her. If the tables were turned, Brie wouldn't give up on finding me either. I felt like I couldn't talk to my parents about what was going on with me. Chad was the only one who would willingly spend time with me after basketball practices. Everybody else just wrote me off as a crazy person because I changed so much within the last six months.

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

"You're getting a sister soon." Richard said, walking down the stairs. A sister? What the hell did that mean? I didn't reply to him. He just kept walking, collecting my dishes. I was in the furthest corner away from him, hugging my legs tightly. "I'm going to bring you a cup of tea."

He left the cabinet open as I heard him moving stuff around from the kitchen. He brought down a box and he slid down another mattress. He brought me a cup of tea, handing it to me. I took it quickly, holding it close to me. I took a seat on my bed, watching him build the bed frame.

I took a sip of the tea. I was finished with my tea when he was finished with the bed. He was putting the sheets on it when everything went black. I don't know what happed or how long I was out for. All I heard was whimpering than sobbing. "And remember, if you run, I'll kill ya." I shivered, remembering Richard saying the same thing to me.

I heard the door close before stretching my body out. "hello?" The voice said next to me.

I looked over at the girl next to me. She had pretty red hair that reminded me of Kelsi's. I sat up and my stomach grumbled loudly. "Hi." I said softly. "What's your name?"

"Maddie." She said softly. "You're that girl that went missing right? Gabriella?"

I nodded slowly. "How old are you Maddie?"

"Seventeen." She said softly, letting out a breath. "It is.. Well it was going to be my senior year." She said, wiping her tears from her face.

I got up and walked over to Maddie. "If we're going to make it out of here alive. We're going to have to stick together." I said softly, wrapping her in a hug. "It's okay to cry."

She leaned into me, letting out a harsh sob. I bit my quivering lip as I rubbed her back slowly. "I just want to go home."

"Me too, Maddie." I sniffled. "Me too."

I held her while she cried. I smoothed down her hair and she fell asleep against my chest. I laid her down on her bed, tucking her in. I crawled in bed and prayed he didn't do the things he did to me to her. I was naturally a light sleeper. Since I got taken, it's only gotten worse. I wake up at the slightest bumps and noises. I felt somebody get into bed with me.

"It's just me." Maddie said softly.

"You scared me." I said back softly.

She leaned against me. "I fell like if he comes in here and I'm all alone he'll cut me into pieces."

"He'll only touch you in the bad room." I said, letting out a breath.

"Have you had…" She trailed off.

"Yes." I said sharply. "He caught me try to open the big window in there."

"Do I want to know?"

"No." I said softly.

"You poor thing." She said, stroking my hair softly. "It's almost Halloween, you know."

"I don't know what the date is… or the time." I said quietly. "It feels like I've been in here for fifty years."

"They still look for you." Maddie said. "I even went down to search for you. I'm from Santa Fe. They get together every weekend to look for you. I met a couple of your friends. The boy… what's his name? I don't know. Whenever he talks about you, it makes everyone cry."

"Who?" I asked quietly, looking over at her.

"He's like 6 something. Super cute. Blue eyes." She trailed off.

"Troy."

She nodded. "That's him. Troy Bolton."

"I miss Troy. I've been in love with him since the third grade. I was so pathetic, you know? I always made him stuff for every occasion… I doubt he kept any of it though." I said, scooting over so we both fit comfortably on the twin bed.

"I think he liked you too. He always talked about how he wished he spent more time with you. He always with a guy who always wore pink and a bushy haired guy. I think he misses you the most." She said, leaning against me.

"God we have to get out of here Maddie." I said breathlessly. "We are going to come up with a plan and we are going to go through with it." I rubbed my forehead.

"Why did this happen to us Gabriella?" She asked tearfully.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I really don't know."

We leaned into each other and I guess we fell asleep. I heard Richard thumping around upstairs. I sat up and looked over at Maddie. She was whimpering quietly in her sleep. I got up, leaving her on my bed, tucked in. I went into our little bathroom and I got a quick shower.

Maddie woke up by the time I was out. She was a little freaked out that she didn't know where I was. I got dressed quickly and calmed her down. "This is what I do in the morning. Take a quick shower if needed. Breakfast is at six, lunch at noon, dinner at six. That's the only time you'll know what time it is. He watches TV for hours after breakfast. I think he falls asleep but I'm not entirely sure. I've only seen him drunk once. He gets pretty violent when he's drunk so make sure to stay out of his way." I said, quietly. "We're going to get through this Maddie, I promise."

She nodded her head. The door squeaked open, Maddie rushed to her bed, curling up on it. The plates scraped against the stair just before the door closed. I got up and walked over to the stairs. I grabbed the plates bringing them back down. "You're going to eat that?" She asked.

"He only drugged me once… that that was to get you. I don't know how long I was out." I said, picking up my fork. "Look Maddie, I know it seems stupid but you have to eat if you want to stay alive."

She nodded her head and picked at her breakfast briefly. "I'm not hungry."

"I didn't eat for days when I first got here. But then I got caught and after I got put in the bad room I realized I needed to eat. I needed all the strength I could get." I said. "You don't have to eat Maddie." I told her softly.

She sighed and pushed the plate away from her. I finished eating and I put our plates on the top of the stairs. "This place is so creepy." She said, hugging herself.

"I know." I said quietly. "I hate that I'm used to it already." I said, biting my lip. "I missed my moms birthday if it's already October. Taylor's birthday is December. Troy's is January. Mine and Chad's are in February. The twins birthday is in March. Kelsi is in August and Zeke is in June." I trailed off.

"My birthday is in July. I just turned 17." She said, hugging herself.

"I'm going to be sixteen." I said, pushing my wet hair back. I moved my fingers through it, trying to get all the tangles out of it. "I'm supposed to be vice president of my sophomore class. I had a 4.5 GPA to uphold."

"Jesus…" She breathed out. "I don't know how you didn't escape already."

"He's not as dumb as he looks. One day he will slip up and that one day is when we get the heck out of here." I said firmly. "We will have to do whatever it takes. Do you understand that?"

She nodded her head. "I'll do anything to get out of here."

* * *

**I know this story is super heavy. The next new story i'm going to put out is pretty heavy as well. I guess Surrogate and Just friends will kind of balance them out. Happy weekend. I might upload something else today, if not than don't forget to review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Troy's POV**

"Happy birthday Troy!" My mom knocked on the door as she came in to wake me up. "You're sixteen, oh my god, when did you get so big?"

"Mom, can you not right now?" I grumbled, putting the pillow over my head.

"Troy, you've been in a shitty attitude since the summer time. Why can't you just be happy anymore?" She asked sitting next to me.

I sighed. "I'm happy mom. I'm fine. Can I just get one thing for my birthday?"

"What's that?" She asked me, running her fingers through my hair.

"I don't want to go to school today."

"But it's your first day back." She argued.

"Mom, please? One more day. I'm going to miss my first couple of classes to go take my drivers test." I said, shrugging.

She sighed. "Okay. I'm going to take you to you drivers test and you can stay home." She said, kissing my forehead. "You should get ready, we have to leave soon."

I sighed. "Alright, I'll go get in the shower." She walked out of the room and I went into my bathroom. I got undressed and turned on the shower. I got in and out quickly, throwing on some clothes. There was a box on my bed and it was a new phone. I let out a breath and took it out, turning it on. I set it up and switched my memory card over. I flicked through my pictures. I found one of Brie, setting it as my wall paper.

I sighed, looking at the picture. I missed her, god, I missed her. I put my new phone in my pocket and walked down stairs. "Thank you mom." I said, wrapping my arms around her. I hugged her tightly.

"You're welcome baby. It's been a tough year for all of us but you deserve it. You've been so strong and so brave. Gabi would be so proud of you." She rubbed the top of my head. "You need a hair cut too."

"Can we go out to lunch after we get back? I have some things I want to talk to you about." I told her

She smiled, nodding her head. "I'll let you drive baby." She tossed me her keys.

We got in my moms car and I drove it to the DMV. I also drove it for my driving test. I passed with flying colors, well that's what the guy said. Mom and I picked up lunch and we headed back home. We took a seat at the table and started eating.

"So I've been thinking lately." I said quietly.

"about what?"

"Everything that's happened. I think I finally know why I've been so detached from the world." I said, wiping my hands on my napkin.

She looked at me confused. "Why?"

"I never really realized how much I would miss having Brie around. I know we didn't really hang out a lot since we started high school. I knew when I was little I had the biggest crush on her." She smiled at me. "I never realized that I was in love with her too. I may never get to tell her."

"Oh honey…" She said, rubbing my hand. "You'll get to tell her. She's out there somewhere and fighting. You know Gabi never goes out without a fight."

I nodded my head. "I know she's okay. Like deep down, I get the feeling where I know she's okay." I sighed. "I can't explain it. I swear I'm going crazy but she is going to come back home."

"She wouldn't have wanted you to quit everything you love honey. She would want you to play basketball and baseball. She would want you to be happy. I can imagine she misses you way more than you miss her. She'll be back sweetie, she'll be back."

"It's glad that somebody else other than me believes that still." I said, looking up at my mom. "Her birthday is coming up. Me and Taylor were talking about doing a candle light vigil at East High."

"That would be nice." She said, with a warm smile. "You enjoy your birthday baby, I'm going to make you some cookies okay?"

I nodded my head. "Okay."

"Oh wait, I have something from your father." She handed me a set of keys. "The beast is yours."

I smiled at her. "I get the beast?"

She laughed nodding her head. "Please, take it, park it somewhere. Hopefully someone will steal it."

I shook my head at her. "The beast is not that bad. It just needs a paintjob. Call me if you need me"

"Will do." She said, nodding.

I walked outside and got in the rusty old pickup truck sitting in the driveway. It was infamously known as the beast. We always played with it while dad was fixing it up. He got it running just before the fourth grade and we all rode in the back for the first trip around the block. Brie had a love-hate relationship with the beast.

I wondered if she would ride around with me if she was here today. She would probably slap me for not being in school but she'd give me some type of homemade present. God I finally admitted it out loud. I was in love with Gabriella Montez. I was in love with somebody that was missing.

"God Brie." I said, breathing out. "Where are you?" I started up the truck and drove away from my house.

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

I woke up to screaming. I sat up quickly, looking for Maddie. She wasn't in the bed next to me. The door was closed to the 'bad' room. Last night was pretty tough for Maddie. She was having a really hard night. I don't know what he caught her doing but it wasn't good. I covered my ears, trying to block out the noise.

I thought about what he did to me. Just the thought of him doing that to somebody else made my guts wrench. I just wanted it to stop. I felt the tears prick my eyes. The screamed quieted down and felt like I was having another panic attack. I couldn't breathe. I moved my head in between my legs.

The door opened and my head flew up. "Didn't you warn her about trying to leave? You're going to stay with me forever." He smacked me across my face. I put my hand to my cheek, still feeling the sting of each finger. "If you untie her, I will kill you."

He walked back up the stairs and I covered my eyes. "G-Gabi." I heard Maddie say.

I got up quickly walking into the bad room. She was naked. I covered my mouth, sobbing. "Maddie, you have to be quiet." I said, moving her hair back. "Please be quiet, don't make him come back down here."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She sobbed.

"I can't let you out Maddie." I said softly. "please don't be sorry. Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about Maddie. When you get out, I'll help you shower and you can lay in bed okay. You have to be strong."

"Okay," She said letting out a breath.

"What did you do Maddie?" I asked her.

"I tried to bust out of here. I got the hinge loose." She said with a small smile.

"We have to stick to the plan Maddie. We have to be patient."

"I want to go home Gabi."

"I want to go home too, but we have to be patient. Get some rest, I'll be in the next room." I said, kissing her forehead.

"Okay." She said breathing heavily.

I went back into the good room, closing the door behind me. I hugged my legs, closing my eyes. I heard her sobbing from the room next to me. I felt so damn helpless. I wanted to go save her but I don't know what he'd do to the both of us if I did.

Maddie came back to the good room the next night. I helped her clean herself up and she rested in bed for a while. It was in between lunch and dinner the day after. I looked over at her. "Have you ever been in love?" I asked quietly.

She nodded her head slowly. "I thought I was." I said. "When I was sixteen. He was seventeen. He was so handsome." She said with a soft smile. "He was an artist. He loved to draw anything and everything."

"Was he nice to you?" I asked him.

"He was a great boyfriend. He always got me nice things."

"What happened?" I asked her.

"He went to New York for college. We couldn't handle the distance." She said sadly. "I miss him everyday, even more now that I'm here."

"I never told Troy how much I loved him. He was just one of those people everybody loved. Nobody could hate him. He had this magnetic personality that could make anybody smile. He used to tease me about everything and sadly I didn't even care. He one of those people I wish I could be more like. He was so confident about everything, focused and discipline. I was a free spirit. My mind was always up in the clouds. We were like yin and yang."

"He seemed so different when I met him. I could tell when he talked about you that he was once that kind of person but I think he change after you were gone."

I frowned. "God I hope not."

"When we get out of here, what is the first thing you're going to do?" She asked me.

"Probably hug everybody in Albuquerque. I would make my mom make every type of food she knew how to make. I wouldn't neglect time with my friends. I would go up to Troy and give him a kiss." I said, smiling at the thought. "What about you?"

"Stay home for a while than go to New York. I'll find him just to give him one last hug. If he has a girlfriend or is married or if he turns out to be gay I will give him the biggest hug that I could." She said softy.

"It's going to be hard."

"I know."

"We're going to have to fight as hard as we can." I said, reaching over for her hand.

"We have to work together to get through this."

"I'll always be here for you Maddie." I said softly.

"Me too Gabi." She said, squeezing my hand tightly.

"We'll be just fine." I said, nodding.

* * *

**Troy's POV**

I sat in the beast, watching everybody walk into the gates of the football field. Everybody had candles in their hand, dressed warmly. It was going to be a chilly night. I looked to the seat next to me, my favorite picture of Gabi, a candle, and dozen red roses. I already had Gabi's missing poster taped to my back window. I just wanted her to come home.

I finally got the strength to get out of the car. I grabbed the stuff in the seat next to me, walking into the football fields. I walked on the stage where Taylor was setting up the microphone. I pinned her picture up to a collage of Gabi. There were easels of two big pictures of two young girls who both got taken the same way.

Everybody was talking amongst themselves and I stood next to Taylor in front of the microphone. "Are you ready?" She asked me, I nodded my head. _"Thank you, everybody, for coming to support your fellow Wildcats. Gabriella Montez was taken on her way to the bus stop April the sixteenth of last year. Only six months later another young girl was taken. Her name is Madison De Ville. She was going to be a Senior at Vista High School. She was walking to her car when she got taken."_ Taylor started. _"This is happened all to frequently in our usually quiet state of New Mexico."_

She handed me the paper and I looked down at it. _"You guys have donated more than five thousand dollars to the Find Gabriella Montez Foundation. We have started a Find Madison De Ville Foundation which you can donate to any time tonight. All checks are made out to Find Gabriella Montez or Find Madison De Ville. If you have any other questions you can go to findgabriellamontez dot com. Or you could talk to us, this is Taylor McKessie and I'm Troy Bolton. "_

I handed over the paper as directed._ "Today would have been Gabriella Montez's 16th birthday. She was a bright mind and an old soul. She appreciated all the little things in life whether it was a handmade gift or just a simple hug. There are countless people who miss her dearly and life will never be the same with her gone."_

_"Madison De Ville has been missing for four months now. We hope and pray that she is okay wherever she is. We hope we both get them back alive. Madison actually came out one weekend to search for Gabriella when we were doing active searches of Albuquerque. We are thankful for her help and we will do anything to find them both."_ I said, glancing down at the paper.

"We're going to have Mr. and Mrs. Montez say a couple words followed by Mr. De Ville." Taylor said. We looked at each other before we stepped off to the sides.

Brie's parents spoke eloquently of their daughter. It was always a tearful event when they talk about Brie. I always get choked up about these events. Madison's parents went after. The crowd got some mingle time before Taylor and I lit our candles. We spread the flame to the whole crowd.

We had a moment of silence for the girls as we stood in the dim glow of the candle light. I took a seat and watched the flame of the tip of the candle flicker. I looked up to see a glow rising from the flames of the community supporting the families of these two girls.

It was so inspiring that these people would take time off from their daily lives to come give their thoughts to us. Brie would be so happy if she could see it. I took a couple of pictures. I had pictures of every other event we held for her. She would see that we missed her and we loved her and we couldn't wait for her to come home to us.

"Troy." I heard Aunt Maria say.

I looked up, standing up. "Hi Aunt Maria."

"You don't have to stand up honey." She said, sitting down in the seat next to me. I took my seat again. She wrapped her hand around mine. "We miss you guys."

"I miss you too." I told her.

"You can come over anytime, If you need somebody to talk to than I'm always here for you." She said softly. Her and Brie shared the same soft spoken voice, the same long curls, the same gestures. "We're still across the street."

"I know." I said softly. "I know you're having the worst time with this out of everybody. I'm afraid if I go in there than I will break down."

She rubbed my back softly in a motherly way. "It's okay to let it out Troy. If you need to go in Gabi's room and lay on her floor and cry, go on ahead. I've done it, Taylor's done it."

I gave her a soft smile. "I don't know if I can do that."

"That's okay. I just want you to know the option is open. We love you Troy. You've matured a lot in the past year. We want you to be happy and Gabi would want you to be happy." Maria said and I leaned against her.

"I don't know what happy is anymore." I said quietly.

"Happy is having hope that your best friend is going to come back home. Happy is trusting your friends and family enough to breakdown every once in a while. Happy is knowing anything could happen but you always hope for the best. I didn't want to be happy for the longest time. I wanted my baby back in my house, in my arms. Since I can't have that right now then my definition of happy is all I've got." She said, kissing the top of my head.

"I'll stop by tomorrow."

She smiled at me. "Good, I'll be home all day."

"Aunt Maria." I said just as she turned to walk away.

"Yeah, Troy?"

"When Gabi comes back I don't think I'll leave your house for a month."

She laughed. "You're welcome anytime Troy." I watched her walk away. She met her husband at the bottom of the stage.

I sat on my seat and watched as everybody slowly left. I stayed in the same spot, talking to a couple people here and there. I stayed until it was just me and McKessie there. She had the boxes of checks and money. She took a seat next to me.

"Are you alright Troy?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I will be." I said, looking over at her. "Do you need help with that Taylor?" She raised her eyebrows at me. "What?"

"I don't remember the last time you called me anything but McKessie." She said with a soft smile.

"I'm not the Troy I was before." I said, looking back at the flame.

"I noticed. We all noticed." She said, looking over at me.

"Do you think she'll like the new me?"

"Gabi?" She asked. I nodded. "Gabi would love you if you cut your legs off and shaved a rooster in your hair."

I laughed a little bit. "Do you need help with counting those? I'll buy you coffee?" I offered.

"How about tomorrow morning? I've spent all day studying for my PSATs." She said.

I nodded. "I'll pick you up around seven?"

"Make it 8:30." She said. "I want to sleep in."

I laughed. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Troy." She got up, picking up the boxes and walking across the football field.

The darkness was surrounding me as the light in the candle got dimmer with every passing moment. It was time to go home. I stood up and the flame blew out. I took my candle and walked back to my truck, looking at the ground. I hopped in my truck and headed on home.

I picked up Taylor the next morning and we went to Starbucks. She brought the boxes of money alone. I ordered for both of us and came back with our coffees. I handed her hers and took a seat, taking Gabi's Box.

"Why do you think we never talk?" I asked her.

"We talk." She said, glancing up at me as I was taking everything out of the box carefully.

"No I meant like before." I said, setting the box on the chair next to me.

"Probably because we didn't really have anything in common." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

I thought about it for a minute while I was separating the checks from the cash. "I suppose you're right." I said, taking one of the paper clips that she brought out and put it on the checks. I took a sip of my coffee. "Now that Brie is missing, I feel like I talk to you more than I talk to Chad."

"You probably do." She said, looking up at me. "I'm sure they care, but I don't know why they can't come to things we do for her."

"They probably don't think she's coming back. They probably mourned over the loss of her and started to 'move on.' I refuse to do that. I don't know if I'm in denial but I won't do that until they find her body. But they're not going to. She's going to make it back alive." I said firmly, separating the cash into ones, fives, tens, and twenties.

Taylor sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "I agree." She said simply.

We turned our attention to the cash that we were counting. I double checked the numbers, writing down the grand total on a sticky note. I paper clipped the bills together. I picked up the checks doing the same. "Hey Taylor." I said, as I watched her triple check my work.

"Yeah?" She asked distractedly.

"Do you think, if I ever got the chance, Brie would go out with me?"

Her head shot up and she looked at me surprised. "What?"

"It took her to be missing to figure out what was so special about her. I can't name it but there is that always something." I said, sighing. "You probably don't understand… never mind."

"No, keep going. I want to hear this." She said, giving me her undivided attention.

I sighed again, taking a drink of my coffee. "I'm in love with her."

"Who?"

"Gabriella Montez. Who do you think we were talking about Taylor? I love Brie. I'm in love with Brie." I admitted, frustrated.

A slow smile crept on her face. "How long have you known?"

"God, I don't know." I said with a small smile. "I just remember being so scared when my mom said she hadn't come over, the day she went missing. I went to her house and my heart stopped when I didn't find her in my room. When she didn't come home after the first three days, it really just hit me. I didn't know if I could live without her." I started laughing. "It's kind of stupid. I couldn't remember the last time I even talked to Brie but god, I love her. I can't wait to tell her."

Taylor smiled at me. "I'm glad she'll have something positive to come back to."

* * *

**I'm so glad y'all are loving this story. This has five chapters. so there are only two left but it's open to continuing. We'll have to see. I love you guys, Don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Gabriella's POV**

"We're never going to get out of here Gabi." Maddie said, crying in the bed with me. She had endured another rough night with Richard. She just came out of the bad room about five minutes ago. I don't know what she's doing to piss him off so bad but she really needs to stop. She won't survive if she keeps going in that room.

"Yes, we are Maddie. We're going to get out of here. You're going to give Tyler a hug and I'm going to tell Troy how I feel. We are going to sleep in our own beds at home with our parents. You can't give up." I said, kissing her forehead.

"I can't do it Gabi, I can't." She sobbed. I pulled her against me. I shushed her quietly. I rubbed her back slowly.

Dropping a kiss against her forehead, I hummed quietly to her. "It's going to be okay Maddie, I promise. It's going to be okay."

Once she fell asleep I put her in her own bed, tucking her in. I heard the TV buzzing from upstairs. I slipped out of my bed and walked over to the bad room. One of the hinges were loose. I was prying it loose one step at a time. I tried to quickly get the second hinge loose. I got it to move a little bit but I got paranoid and rushed back into the good room before he came down.

I washed my hair while Maddie was sleeping. I wish I had a brush. I wish I could just go home. Maddie and I lost track of time. We didn't know how long we've been in here. We didn't know what was going on in the world. We were just two lost souls in shells of people.

Maddie lost all hope in getting out and I was trying to be strong. I felt like I was sinking into the same hole of lost hope that Maddie was. I didn't want to lose hope. I didn't want to not try to get my life back. I didn't want to have no faith, nothing to look forward to.

I really hated this basement. I hated the shower. I hated the bad room. I hated everything about this place. I just wanted to scream. I wanted to kill the piece of shit man upstairs. I needed to get out. I felt like a caged animal. I wanted to snap his fucking neck.

I left my hair wet, dropping it along my shoulders. I grabbed the pillow off my bed and thrashed it around. I smacked it against my bed, against the wall, against the headboard. I grabbed it, putting it over my face. I let out the most blood curdling scream, muffled into the pillow. For the first time since I was taken I felt like I've legitimately gone crazy.

"What the fuck is going on down here?" I heard him tell from the top of the stairs. I knew better than to answer. I pretended like I was asleep. I laid still against my bed. He mumbled something, stomping back up the stairs. He slammed the cabinet door, waking Maddie up.

She looked at me wide eyed. I looked over at her and put my finger over my lips. "Go back to sleep Maddie." I said quietly.

A couple nights seemed like an eternity. Maddie hadn't got back into bad room. She was finally understanding that if she was quiet, nothing worse would happen to her. It was getting dark when the cabinet opened. A long dusty box slid down the stairs.

He smiled at us, carrying the box to the middle of the room. "Hello my beautiful girls. You're going to get a sister soon." I felt a sense of déjà vu. Maddie looked over at me, worriedly. I gave her a look that told her to remain calm. "How would you feel about another sister?" He asked us.

We watched him take the pieces of a bed frame out of the box. He started putting it together. We watched him in silence. He put the bed together carefully. Richard ordered us to get up. He pushed our beds a little to the right. The medal scraped against the ground as he put the new bed in place.

He dusted off his hands, picking up the box. "I'm going to get you ladies some tea. I'll bring down the mattress and we can put some new bedding on it." He said, giving me a sinister smile.

My stomach turned as he went up the stairs. I ran over to Maddie's bed. "Listen to me. It's time. Do not drink the tea. If he's watching, take little sips. Don't drink the fucking tea Maddie." I whispered harshly. She nodded as I made my way back over to my bed.

He came back down with two cups of tea. "Let it sit for a minute, it's pretty hot." He said, handing me one then Maddie one. I gave him a short nod and he went back upstairs. I gave Maddie a sharp look. She played with the bag in it. He brought down the mattress, fitting it in the bed frame perfectly. "Drink up, it should be good now." He watched us and I put the cup to my lips. I pretended to take a small sip and swallowed. He gave me another chilling smile.

He went up stairs. We both got up and dumped a little bit out. Maddie did the same and we made it back to the bed with no problem. I set my cup on the ground and found a bottle of water. I chugged the water and hid the empty bottle under my pillow.

Richard came back down with a comforter and sheet set. A pillow tucked under his arm. He used his Swiss Army Knife to open the package. He set it on the ground and made the bed. He grabbed the garbage unknowingly kicking the Army knife under the bed. I pretended I didn't notice, just sipping on my tea nonchalantly.

"I'll be back soon my beautiful girls." He said blowing us a kiss. He went up the stairs.

I let out a breath and she dumped most of hers in the toilet. I poured mine in the empty water bottle. I hid it in the pillow, making sure it didn't make noise. I set the cup on the floor. I moved quickly over to the empty bed, retrieving the knife from under the bed. I hid it under my mattress.

"Now we are going to pretend like were sleeping. Even if you have to pee. We don't move until he leaves Maddie. We have to do this okay. Go pee now. We cannot get caught." I told her.

"Okay." She said breathlessly. She rushed over to the toilet. She flushed and I went pee as well. "When do we do it?"

"Now." I said, collapsing. It didn't take long for her to actually fall asleep. I couldn't sleep, not now. Not yet.

Some while later I heard him come check up on us. He touched my cheek and tried not to flinch. "I'll be back soon my loves." He whispered. I heard him head up the stairs. His footsteps were still around the house. I finally fell asleep myself.

I heard the roar of an engine waking me up. I looked to the window, the sun wasn't even up yet. I took a deep breath and looked over at Maddie who was still sleeping still. Today was the day. Today we were going to get out of here. There was another rev of the engine before the cars noise got faint. I ran my fingers through my tangled mess of my hair.

I slowly worked the tangles out of my hair as the sun came up. I picked up the hair tie that was on the headboard. I pulled up my hair and Maddie suddenly sat up, gasping for air. She did this sometimes when she was having a bad dream. She looked over at me and started sobbing.

I frowned, moving over to her. "Maddie, calm down." I said, wrapping my arms around her. "I'm here. It's going to be okay." I said quietly.

She sniffled, pushing her face into my chest. "I'm so scared." She said softly.

"I'm here. I'll protect you Maddie." I said softly. "We're going to get out of here today, I promise you."

She looked up at me surprised. "How?"

"He left. He's gone to go get another girl. We are going to bust out of here and run." I said, looking at her.

For the first time in a while a smile broke out on her face. "Let's do it." She said, grinning.

I nodded and we got up. We rushed over to the bad room. We both had forks, working on the second hinge. "Wait!" I said, thinking of something. I rushed over to my bed and pulled the Army Knife out from under it. I pulled out the knife, working it loose. "Come on, let's try to pull it open."

I put the knife away and we pulled on the window and it budged a little bit. "Come on Gabi." She encouraged us both. We yanked a little harder and we got it open a little bit. The warm air started coming in. "Come on."

"Hold on." I said, pausing. I listened and heard nothing. I glanced back behind me and nothing was there. I loosened the side of the window with the knife before we pulled it all the way open. We both squealed in excitement, hugging each other. "We have to go now!" I said.

We rushed back into the room putting our shoes on. I grabbed my pillow case and I put a couple bottles of water in there. I grabbed the knife and pushed the steel table against the window. Maddie climbed through first. I threw the bag and I jumped up on the table. I kicked the table back, spitting on the table, as I went through the window. I pulled it closed again and adjusted to the light.

"Where do we start?" Maddie said quietly.

"I don't know." I said honestly.

* * *

**Troy's POV**

It's been two years since Brie had been taken. I started my senior year of high school. I didn't play any sports. I was kind of a hermit. I talked to Taylor more than any of my other friends. My grades were great though. I had to apply for colleges. I applied only to ones that were close to home. The furthest one was in Dallas.

When I was at school I focused on the material I was learning. When I was alone most of the other time I was thinking about Brie. We hadn't heard anything new in her investigation since they found her stuff. I started visiting the Montez's more. I'd spend time with Aunt Maria just talking about Gabriella and how short life is.

It was a hot day for November. It felt weird because it was almost winter. I had gotten up early to do a little work out at the gym. I didn't want to be at home. My parents had separated. My dad was never home and my mom was sick of it. He moved out but it didn't really affect me. It felt like he hasn't been there for a while now. My mom was still having a hard time with it. She just wanted him to try.

I pulled out from my drive way and headed off to school. I stopped at a stop light and somebody rear ended me. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." I muttered, getting out of my car.

"Are you okay?" A woman asked frantically.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" I asked the woman. Her hood was smashed up against my bumper. Her airbags hadn't deployed though.

She nodded. "I'm so sorry! God, this day is just the worst. We can exchange insurance. I'll pay for everything really!" She said.

I nodded, taking out my phone. I took a couple pictures of the accident and we exchanged information. She called a tow truck. I hopped back in my truck and drove to East. I stayed in my truck and called my mom.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Somebody rear ended me." I said, sighing.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" She asked, worriedly.

"I'm fine. She said she'd take care of it. I took pictures and stuff. I got her information and her phone number." I said.

"We'll take care of it when you get home tonight." She said. "Go to the office and tell them."

"I'll probably get detention. I have Darbus." I told her.

She sighed. "Okay. Well call me when you're heading home."

"Alright. I love you mom." I told her.

"I love you too baby." She said before hanging up the phone.

I grabbed my bag and closed the door. I went to the office and explained to them what happened. I got a note and walked to class. "Late again Bolton. Hour detention after school, painting sets." Darbus said, taking my notes.

I sighed, trudging to the back of the room where my seat was. The rest of the day wasn't anything special. I ate lunch alone in the courtyard. I went to all my other classes. I did most of my homework in free period. After the last bell rung I headed over to the theater. I got handed a paint can and a paint roller.

"Why were you late Mr. Bolton?" Ms. Darbus said, before I even got the chance to start.

"I got in a car accident." I said tiredly.

She raised her eyebrow as if she didn't believe me. "This is going to be a blue room. Don't paint the window." Darbus, pointed to the square in the middle of the huge canvas.

"Yes, Ms. Darbus." I said lethargically. I opened the can of paint and poured a little bit into the tray. I put the roller in the paint and rolled it around a couple times. I started at the bottom, painting evenly in one direction. I was, unfortunately, a professional at painting sets.

I heard the thwack of heels behind me and I knew just who that was. I was in the middle of the canvas, trying to paint out the window. "Well hello Troy."

"Hi Sharpay." I said, monotone.

"What are you in for?" She asked.

"Car accident. I was late." I said, checking the time on my cell. I had a half hour left.

"Oh, that sucks." She said, whipping her blonde hair around. She cleared her throat. "Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes." I heard her sing as she walked away.

A small smile formed on my face. I hated that song but it brought back such good memories. "Mr. Bolton! Back to work!" Darbus said. I jumped, wiping the smile off my face. I continued painting.

When it was time for me to go, I cleaned up my mess and put the paint where somebody showed me. I met up with Ms. Darbus. "It's time to go." I said, looking at her.

"Thank you for your time, you're painting has gotten much better since last detention." She gave me a small smirk. "Don't be late Mr. Bolton."

"Yes, Ms. Darbus. Have a good night."

"You too." She called.

I made my way to my truck. I called my mom before I headed home. I turned onto the main road from East High. My radio was playing low in my truck. I turned it off as I turned down the street. I opened up the garage and pulled into the driveway. I gathered my stuff and got out.

I looked across the street and saw Brie's parents rushing to the car. "Hi!" I called out.

"Hi!" Uncle Cory said.

"We have to go." Aunt Maria said, closing the door behind her.

I just shrugged, watching them drive off. I went in my house, closing the garage behind me. "Mom I'm home." I called out to the house.

"Hey honey." She said, sniffling.

I frowned. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said, collecting the papers on the table.

"Wait." I said, stopping her. I took the papers from her.

"Troy… don't-" She said.

I put my hand up, reading the papers. I closed my eyes, letting out a breath. "Sign them. We don't need him." I said, walking up the stairs. I dropped my bags and ran my fingers through my hair. "This can not be happening. This day cannot get any worse."

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

We had crept around the house. He had definitely left. We had two options. Run and find somebody or call from there. Richard had left the door unlocked. I guess we were really deserted in the mountains. We searched around the house and I grabbed the phone. I punched in 911.

"911 what is your emergency?"

"My name is Gabriella Montez. I was taken from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I don't know where I am but you have to hurry." I said, speaking quickly.

"What is around you dear?" The lady asked me.

"We're in the mountains, somewhere. I don't know. Can't you track the phone?"

"Is anyone with you?"

"Maddie, Maddie is with me."

"Madison De Ville." Maddie said, looking around anxiously.

"Her name is Madison De Ville." Maddie squealed. She handed me an envelope with an address on it. "We're at 1194 Big Bear Way…. Ship Rock, New Mexico."

"We have contacted local authorities. They are on there way. We are going to stay on the phone with you."

"What is your name?" I asked the lady.

"My name is Deanne." She said.

"Deanne, what's the date?" I asked her.

"It's November 18th 2010." She said.

"What is it?" Maddie asked me.

"November 18th 2010." I told her, my lip quivered. She looked at me confused. "Deanne…" I trailed off, I started to sob.

"Gabriella… Gabriella." I heard Deanne saying. I handed the phone off to Maddie.

"She's breaking down." Maddie murmured into the phone. "I was the one who was always breaking down. She was the strong one." She said quietly. "Can you call my parents? Can you tell them that I'm coming home?"

"Mine too!" I said, choking out a sob.

"Gabriella wants you to do the same to her parents too." We heard sirens and I looked up. "We hear them! We're going to be saved! Gabi! We're going to be saved!"

I got up and headed towards the window. I saw three cop cars pull up. I pulled open the door and ran over to an officer who got out of the car. I jumped on him, hugging him tightly. I was still sobbing profusely. "Thank you! Thank you." I went over to each office giving them all hugs. "Thank you so much."

"Ms. Montez, Ms. De Ville. You have no idea how happy we are to see you." The chief said, after I hugged him. "We're going to have to ask you some questions."

"I don't care! Ask me. I want to go home as quick as I can." I said, wiping my tears. Maddie had rushed out after me.

"Before we ask any questions, we're going to walk around. We are going to take you ladies to the hospital, then we are going to the station where you will be reunited with your families." The chief said "Let's get started."

Maddie and I lead him straight to the cabinet. I got it open and he took a look down there. I showed him the bad room and the window we got out of. After lingering there for another hour and a half we finally got taken to a hospital in Santa Fe.

We both got rape kits done but they would turn out negative because it happened so long ago. We were able to take showers and get fresh clothes on. The police escorted us to the Santa Fe Police Station. They split us up, I guess to talk to each other separately.

I told them my story. I told them all the graphic details. I told him his license plate number. I told them what he looked like. Half of the station left to find him. After a couple hours of talking to people, Maddie and I were reunited again. We sat in the break room of the office on a couch. She was leaning against me and I was playing with her hair.

"Maddie." I said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you, for being there for me today and for the past year and a half. I don't know if I could have made it without you." I said, kissing the top of her head.

"I never would have made it out alive if it wasn't for you Gabi." She said, looking up at me. "Please don't forget about me."

"I don't think I can ever forget. We'll always be friends." I assured her. "I promise you."

"I love you Gabi, I'm sorry this happened to us." She said quietly.

"Me too. I love you too." I said, hugging her as tightly as I could.

"Maddie?" There was a man standing in the doorway. He took a couple steps in.

"Daddy!" She sprang up and jumped on him. I watched as they hugged and laughed and cried with each other. They held on for what seemed like forever. She deserved to be so happy. I hope she had the best possible life she could have.

"Gabi."

My head shot over to the door. "Mom! Dad!"

* * *

**The end! Don't forget to review! ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Troy's POV**

My parents were getting a divorce. It was official. Mom was going to sign the paperwork and Dad wasn't going to be around. What was going to happen to me? Was I going to be able to go to college? Will mom be okay? This was possibly the worst day of my life.

I found a small rubber basketball next to my bed. I threw it at the small hoop on my wall, catching it when it bounced back to me. I got up, giving up on the basketball and the hoop. I grabbed the book I made for Brie for when she got back. I ran my hand over her face on the cover. I opened it and it showed some pictures of us when we were kids with all our friends.

The next page was the hardest to make. It was her missing posters and some newspaper clippings. The third and fourth pages were pictures of the searches we held. The fifth, sixth, and seventh pages were fundraisers and candlelight vigils we held for Brie. The eighth page was for when she came back. The ninth page was a list of things that Brie and I would do when she came back. The last page was just a rant confessing my love for her.

I got up, leaving the book on my bed. I walked down the stairs. I walked into the back living room. There were dozens of home movies assembled in our entertainment center. My eyes gazed over them. I grabbed a couple of them before closing the cabinet. I pushed a tape into the VCR. I changed the settings on the TV.

The screen went blue before a slight wave of static. When the picture came back on the screen the date in the corner was dated in 2005. It was in the gymnasium of East Elementary. The crowd was all buzzing and the camera turned to me.

"_Hi Troy." I heard my moms voice say._

"_Hey mom." I said, waving to the camera._

"_Why are we here Troy?" _

"_We are going to see Cheese and Sharpay's play." I said, smiling. "They are going to be in the Wizard of Oz play. Sharpay had to be Dorothy and Cheese is the Wicked Witch. It's funny because Sharpay should be the wicked witch."_

_My mom laughed. "That is not a nice thing to say Troy."_

_I shrugged. "It's true. Sh! It's starting."_

The static came over the screen again. This next part Brie's scene. She was a good actress. That was the first time she was ever mean to anything. She wouldn't hurt a fly. I just had to laugh. It was so funny watching yourself, or someone you know when they were little.

There was a knock on the door. I ignored it. I continued watching the tape. It switched over to a basketball game. I was stretching. My dad was sitting on the bench, scribbling down things in his notebook. I remember this game. We had to win this game or else we wouldn't make it to the play offs.

"_There's Troy! He's twelve years old. He is the starting point guard for the East Albuquerque Junior Wildcats. Isn't he a handsome little boy?" Mom asked to the camera._

"_He looks really nice in the uniform." The camera shifted to the tiny girl with a head full of curls who was sitting next to her. Sharpay, Ryan and Taylor were sitting on the bench next to her. _

"_This is Gabi, Taylor, Sharpay and Ryan. We're here to support Troy and Chad." Mom said. The other kids looked up, waving to the camera. _

"_Aunt Lucy?"_

"_Yes Gabi?" She asked her_

"_Do you think they're going to win?"_

"_I don't know." Mom shrugged._

_Brie licked her lips, looking out to the court. "I hope they do, Troy always gets really sad when they don't." Mom had turned the camera. Dad had his hands on my shoulders, he was talking to me sternly. "Uncle Jack always gets upset too."_

_Mom sighed. "I have faith that they'll win." I heard her say, I imagined with a smile on her face._

We didn't win that game. Dad was upset, I remember him not talking to me for a week. Mom kept saying it wasn't my fault but my dad was taking it out on me. I couldn't help but feel like it was. I had let everybody down. I let my dad down. If only I could go back and tell myself that it wouldn't be the last time.

"Troy."

"Yeah?" I asked, distractedly.

"Troy."

I turned my head to look over at my mom. Her eyes were a little red and puffy, she gave me a wide smile as she stepped to the side. I blinked a couple times. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. I heard a giggle escape her lips. My heart warmed up instantly. My whole body started shaking. I somehow rose to my feet. Tears welled up in her chocolate brown eyes. God, she was beautiful.

"Please tell me I'm not dreaming." I said, making my way over to her.

"You're not dreaming." She said softly. I reached out, touching her face. She was real, She was here, she was back. I touched her hair, my thumb trailed against her lip. "I needed to come see you. I needed to see you first."

"I knew you would come home." I said softly. "I knew you were coming back." I told her, my fingers trailed down her shoulders. I touched her hand and she intertwined her fingers with mine. Tears escaped her eyes. "Please, please don't cry."

She gave me a sad smile. "I'm just so happy to be home." She took both of my hands between hers. "I have something to tell you."

"You have my full attention." I said softly.

"I never thought I was going to be able to tell you this. I need to tell you now because you need to know." I nodded my head for her to go on. "It's a little weird to tell you this. I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship. My parents barely let me out of the house to see you, so I'll probably quarantined in my room for the next month." Brie said, trailing off the subject.

"What is it brie?" I asked her.

Her face seemed to light up at the nick name. She squeezed my hands. "I've been… desperately in love with you since the third grade. And I mean desperately. I love you Troy. I understand if you don't feel the same. I still would like to be your friend. I'll be across the street if you ever need anything."

A smile crept up on my face. She loved me. I was too dense to see anything but she loved me and I loved her. "I love you." I said, reaching up to wipe her tears. "I love you more than you'll ever know. I was lost without you Brie."

"Well you don't have to be because I'm not going anywhere again." She ran her fingers through my hair. She leaned in to touch our lips against each other.

"I have to show you something." I said, she looked at me a little disappointed. I lead her up the stairs. "You don't have to look at it now. I want you to read it when you're ready… But first." I pulled out my phone and pulled her close to me. I took a picture of us, to put in the book later. "And second."

She connected her lips to mine. It was short and sweet and there were going to be much more where that came from. I wasn't going to push it today. "I love you Troy."

"I love you too Brie. We will talk about all of this when you're ready. For now, I'm going to walk you home and tuck you into your bed… I might even sleep on the floor" I told her, grabbing the book. She smiled.

Brie and I walked hand in hand back over to her place. I tucked her into bed, giving her another peck. I showed her the cover of the book. "Read this when you're ready. I'll put it in the drawer." I told her. I did as I said and smiled at her.

"Troy." She said softly.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"I don't know when this will all hit me, but please don't give up on me." She begged quietly.

I walked back over to her, sitting on the bed next to her. "It's been two years. I haven't and I will never give up on you. I promise you that." I told her, kissing the palm she placed on my cheek.

She leaned up, kissing my cheek softly. "Can you stay until I fall asleep? I'm adjusting to being in a room by myself."

"Oh course I will." I shot my mom a quick text and she understood completely. I laid with her in her bed, she wrapped my arms around her. I ran my fingers through her hair.

"Talk to me, tell me what's been going on since I've been gone." Brie asked me quietly.

I let out a deep breath. "Where to start? The end of school was hard. I had to clean out your locker. I have all your stuff actually, whenever you want it. Tay, Chad, Ry, Shar, Kels, and Zeke hung out for most of the first summer. When Sophomore year started I kind of got… depressed. I didn't play basketball or baseball. I can proudly say I didn't let my grades slip though. I had a 4.0 that year. I spent most of my time with myself, or my mom… or get this.. Taylor."

"You're lying." She said, with a smile as she turned to face me.

I shook my head. "Taylor and I are great friends actually."

Her smile widened. "That is great to hear."

"Yeah." I said, smiling. I just couldn't stop since I laid down. "Dad started working more. Mom was being super house wife. She was spending a lot of time with your mom, helping out when needed. Junior year was alright. I took an honors class. That was a little weird. I got a B in it. I had to take my senior pictures."

"What! I want to see." She said, pouting. "Do you have one?"

I shook my head. "There's one on your fridge though."

"I'll have to find it tomorrow." She said. "Tell me about senior year. Is it all we thought it would be?" She asked, playing with my hair.

"It's cool. I mean, the classes are easy. Nobody really cares anymore, I sent out my college applications. I'll enjoy it much more now that you're here."

"I wanted to go to college."

"You still can." I reminded her. "Just take a GED test. Hell you're smart enough to pass it without even studying." She gave me a look. "What? You could."

"That would never happen. The not studying part… not the GED part. I really wanted to walk across the stage though." She said with a frown.

"You will be able to. You'll do whatever you want to do." I told her, I leaned in kissing her forehead. "You don't know how much I've missed you."

"I missed you more." She cuddled against me. "It's weird that this isn't weird."

"No it's not. It's… everything it should be." I told her. "It's everything it should have been for a long time now."

"Keep going, what else is happening?" Brie asked me. Her long brown curls were everywhere. Her head rest against my chest. Her hand was tucked under her chin the other arm fit comfortably under my waist. My arms were wrapped around her tiny body.

I rubbed my forehead, thinking of what else. "My parents separated… They're now getting a divorce."

She frowned. "Why?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "He's never home. I haven't talked to him in years it seems like. He probably has another family somewhere. I don't really care."

"Of course you care." She said softly. "You're just hurt, it's understandable."

"If he doesn't care, why should I?" I asked her.

Brie sighed softly. "Oh Troy. He's your father. He taught you how to throw a baseball and shoot a basketball. He spend endless amounts of time and money into your sports teams. He loves you."

"I love him too but I don't understand why he's not home. He has me, he has mom. I don't get it."

"You won't understand until you talk to him." Brie said, kissing my cheek.

I nodded. "It guess that's true."

"What were you watching when your mom and I walked in?"

"Home videos. It was the Wizard of Oz, my semi-final championship game against the West High Junior Knights. I didn't get through the rest." I told her. "How do you feel now that you're back?"

"Relieved, exhausted, excited, happy. I'm ready to get my life back." She said, lacing my fingers between hers. "I never thought I'd come home. I knew I was going to get out but there's still this little voice in the back of your mind telling you what you don't want to hear."

"Taylor is going to be so happy you're back." I told her.

"I miss Taylor. God, this feels like a dream. I don't want to fall asleep because if I wake up and I'm back in that room… I don't know what I'd do."

"I hope it's not either." She sighed, a small smile lingering on her face. "You're so beautiful, Brie." I told her honestly. She was the most beautiful girl in the world.

Her smile got a little bigger. "I'm not." She looked away from me, her cheeks a rosy pink.

I reached over to touch the heat of her face. She was always so soft. Her room smelled like strawberries, she was always fruity and sweet smelling. Her room lingered of it even after two years. "I know I haven't always been like this but I will tell you how beautiful you are everyday. I will remind you, every moment that I love you. I'll be here on the hardest days and on your best days. You will never be alone again." Her broken brown eyes teared up lightly. Her smile never dissipated. Her lips touched mine and I pulled back before I even thought about getting carried away. "All in good time, my love." I whispered against her lips.

* * *

**Gabriella's POV**

"Thank you god for bringing her back safely." I heard in a quiet whisper from next to me. I felt the fingers in my hair, stroking my scalp comfortingly. I shifted slightly. I was in my bed. At home. With my parents. I wasn't in that house. I wasn't chained up with Maddie. I wasn't restricted to the boundaries that somebody made for me. My eyes fluttered open. "Good morning beautiful girl."

I gave him a tired smile. "Morning."

"Did you sleep okay?" He asked me softly, concerned.

"I slept perfectly, thank you." Troy pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. He was so different from the Troy I knew before I went away. Either Troy I loved. My pulse quickened at the thought that he loved me too. I put my hand on his neck. I pulled his lips down to mine, kissing them slowly. All I wanted to do was kiss him. They just got better with each kiss.

"I love you." He reminded me, pushing my sleep tangled hair back.

"I love you." I repeated back to him. I cuddled against him. I inhaled deeply. I thought about me and Troy. We're we going to be together all the time? We're we just going to be together until he went off to college? I wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen. "Are we… together?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" I asked him.

He frowned slightly. "Are you ready for a relationship?"

"I'm ready to be with you."

"We can still be together. It's up to you Brie. I have no problem with being your boyfriend. I do, however, have a problem with forcing something on you that you're not ready for." He told me.

I licked my lips. "I just want to be with you. It's all I've ever wanted."

Troy nodded his head. "We can keep it between us if you're not ready to tell people. I love you and I'll do anything for you."

"We can keep it on the down low until everything gets settled." I told him. It only seemed fair.

"I forgot to tell you." Troy said, smiling at me.

"What?"

"I have… the beast." Troy said dramatically.

I let out a giggle, smiling. "I can't wait to ride in the beast."

"That's my girl." He murmured, pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

"You can kiss me like a normal person, you know? I'm not going to break."

Troy frowned at me. "I know, I just don't want to mess anything up."

I shook my head at him. "You have nothing to worry about. Now give me real kiss." I demanded.

He slid his hand down to my waist. I pulled his neck closer to me. He connected our lips, his lips were soft against mine. I held him close to me, hoping he wouldn't pull away. Troy's lips pressed more firmly against mine. Kissing away my anxiety and my fear for a little while. I felt a warm appendage against my lip. My stomach fluttered with excitement as my tongue reached out to touch his.

The soft knock on the door tore us apart. There was another soft knock before my mom peaked her head into my room. "Sweetheart, breakfast is ready. Troy come down and eat. I already invited your mom, she's on her way over." Mom said. "And don't get too comfortable in that bed. The next time you'll be sleeping there will be when you have a wedding band on your hand."

I just smiled at my mom. "I love you mom."

Her smile grew. "I love you too baby." She closed the door after she walked back into the hallway.

Troy brushed my nose against my cheek. "I don't want to get up." He mumbled.

"Come on. My mom will let us snuggle later." I told him. I crawled out of bed, walking over to my bathroom. After I brushed my teeth and fixed myself up. "Troy." I said, looking over at the half asleep boy on my bed.

"Yeah?"

"Can I use your phone?" I asked him.

"Sure baby." He mumbled tiredly. The butterflies fluttered around again.

I took a seat on the bed and took his phone out of his front pocket. I laid down with him again, I pressed the middle button that made his phone come to life. "Oh…" I said, interested in the complicated device that was his phone. "How.. Do I touch it?" I asked rhetorically.

He chuckled quietly, opening his eyes. "Yeah, baby. Look." He reached over, sliding the bar and it opened.

"This is some fancy phone you got here." I smiled. "Remember how bad I wanted that stupid razor flip phone?"

He chuckled. "Technology will blow your mind." He kissed my cheek. "What do you want to do babe?"

"I want to call somebody." I said, finding the little phone square. Troy touched the contacts for me. I scrolled with my finger, squealing a little bit. "This phone is so cool." I found Chad's name. I touched it and a whole new screen popped up. An operator said something quickly before some song I didn't know played in my ear. "You can put music on here too?"

"You are going to be amazed with iphones my love." Troy said, kissing my forehead. "I'll be your personal I-tutor."

I giggled. "Hoops?" Chad said on the other side of the line.

"Hi Chad."

"Uh… Who is this?" Chad asked confused.

"The only person who could teach you how to do math." I said. Troy smirked at me. "Chad, it's me. Gabi."

"Bolton are you fucking with me right now? Because it's not funny."

"Chad, I'm home." I said, frowning a little bit.

"This better be you or Maria and Cory are going to be very confused when I walk up to their door." Chad hung up.

"That didn't go very well." I said with a shrug. "Who's next? Ryan."

"Hello?" A confused Ryan answered the phone. "Troy?"

"Hi Ryan." I said.

"G-… Gabs?" Ryan asked sounding confused. "Sharpay! Come here!"

"I'm back Ryan." I said, smiling up at Troy.

"Hello?" I heard Sharpay's voice come on the line.

"Hi Shar."

There was a loud scream coming from the other end. "This can't be real. You're back? Like in person?"

I laughed. "Yes, I'm home."

"We're coming over!" Sharpay said.

"Chad is already on his way."

"See you in ten!" Sharpay said before she hung up.

The doorbell rang. I got up and Troy got up with me. I heard thumping up the stairs. My door swung open and a wide eyed Chad was staring at me. "You're here!" He said, the biggest grin overcame his face. He rushed over to me. He wrapped his arms around me, picking me up off the ground.

"I missed you too Chad." I said, giggling.

He set me down and I gave him a proper hug. "Hey man." Troy said.

"Hey hoops." Chad said, smacking his hand. "How are you buddy?"

"I'm great now." Troy said. I stood in front of Troy, leaning against him. He wrapped his arms around my waist.

Chad smirked. "You guys don't waste time do you?" He laughed. "I'm glad, you guys are happy."

The sound of clacking heels up the stairs caught our attention. "Gabi!" She shrieked as she walked into the room. I rushed over to her, giving her a hug. She squeezed me tightly. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Me too." I said, smiling softly.

"The first thing I want to know is why wasn't I called immediately, Troy Bolton." Taylor said charging into the room.

"Taylor!" I squealed, rushing over to her. I hugged her tightly.

"Sorry Tay." Troy said smiling sheepishly.

"I forgive you." She said, hugging my neck tightly. She sniffed.

"Taylor you better not be crying. You're going to make me cry." I looked up to see Ryan in the doorway. "Ryan." I released Taylor and gave Ryan a hug.

"You look more beautiful than the last time I saw you Gabs." He said grinning.

"Thanks Ry." I smiled at them all. "Look at us."

"The gangs all back." Ryan said.

"We have a new IT couple." Shar said smirking.

Troy and I looked over to Chad. "What? I couldn't not tell her."

Troy slipped his arms around my waist. I leaned back against him. "It's way too early for this." I said, laughing, looking up at Troy.

"Amen." He said, kissing the back of my neck.

"Come on. Group hug." I said, holding my arms out. They all circled around us.

"Good thing we're off for thanksgiving." Taylor said.

We all laughed. "Is school all you think about?" Chad asked her.

"Most of the time." She said, smacking his shoulder.

"I think they're the next ones to get together." Sharpay said to me.

I giggled. "I agree."

Times weren't always as easy as the first couple days back. They had caught Richard. Maddie and I had to testify in court. It was a long, long court process. We were thankful when it was over. Richard was put away for life. His only family- his sister, his niece, and nephew all apologized. It wasn't their fault but it was nice.

We didn't know what was going to happen next. We would figure it out all in good time. As long as I had my family, Troy, and my friends by my side, I would be okay.

* * *

**Come on, y'all you think i'd end it there? I just wanted to see all the hate mail i'd get. LOL no hate mail was sent thankfully. I'm feeling really emotional today so i'll tell you i love you. AND there will be a sequel... i don't know when so keep a look out. New story on Saturday. I'm going to go eat a hot pocket, cry, and watch dance moms, so Don't forget to review!**


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